all stars game

The answer is rarely "Demons"

18

JUL/14

It has been a “week” since my last entry, an arbitrary group of 7 days by which this place measures time (even though they use the standard 10-increment mathematical system). This resulted in Metri and I having a conversation about developing a universal measurement system only using increments of 10. The mathematical and computational value of such a system would be substantial. I think I may give her some credit for the idea, possibly naming the system after her.

But I digress. Much has happened in the interval. We had known Desandra only a short while when she proposed the idea of combating our alien foe with demon summoning. Now, I don’t have any problems with binding the forces of evil to my will and forcing them to do my bidding normally, but her idea was nothing less than opening a portal to hell, and allowing demons unrestricted access to this plane. To complicate matters, we would not be able to have any control over this venture initially, as it was to happen 50 years in the past. Miss Hawthorne apparently has an unhealthy fascination with temporal magics, a practice that I do not approve of, but was forced to take part in, nonetheless.

Apparently, my magical expertise was needed in order to finish the ritual necessary to summon the demons. I am a little hazy on the details, as I must admit I have been distracted since arriving by all of the new and different experiences, but apparently my current group agreed to assist in providing the farspawn with additional opponents, in the form of demon princes and their entourage. This apparently disrupted the timestream enough to assault another of our foes.

The combat was mainly uneventful, and I am beginning to appreciate the skills assembled in this group. The offensive capabilities of both fighters are highly laudable, our monk combines a fairly unassailable defense with the uncanny ability to slay with a single blow, and our cleric nicely combines healing power with augmentation magic. I am still not entirely certain why the draconian carries that immense weapon around, as I have yet to see him so much as heft it.

Needless to say, we achieved our goal, however we had the unwanted addition of a major player from our opposition, a water caster by the name of Bela. As we had succeeded in our task, we beat a hasty retreat. Seeing Bela in action gave me pause to consider the benefits of the elemental magic which is commonly used in this plane. I have decided to attempt some methods of accessing the elemental planes in an effort to reproduce the effects back in Toril.

In the haste of our departure, I had left behind my Speyes, whose abilities at stealth apparently kept them undetected. I used the opportunity to monitor Bela’s activities, which mainly consisted of infusing some spellcasters with pseudonatural power, while sacrificing others. Her insanity was obvious. I was concerned to note that she had both an Illithid and a Solar among her companions. These will eventually need dealt with.

Upon returning I had the “pleasure” of experiencing firsthand what I had previously witnessed in the others: the backlash which arose from our temporal meddling. I became the magical equivalent of a sphere of annihilation. It was decidedly not pleasant, and I recorded my observations in the “magical phenomena” section of Al’s notes. I was effectively out of commission for roughly 2 days.